Voodoo priestess says official stiffed her

MARIETTA, Ga., Oct. 7 (UPI) -- A South Carolina woman claiming to be a voodoo priestess says a Georgia county official paid her with bad checks for a curse put on a successful rival.

The case is in the hands of the Georgia Bureau of Investigations, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported Tuesday.

"We haven't had a chance to verify if the allegations are true, or whether a crime has been committed yet," said John Bankhead, a spokesman for the bureau.

Atlanta TV station WSB obtained a police report in which Annette Kesting, a Cobb County commissioner, was said to have allegedly arranged for a voodoo ceremony targeting Woody Thompson. Kesting defeated Thompson, who had served two terms on the commission, in 2004, but he then defeated her this year.

Kesting allegedly asked George Ann Mills of Blythewood, S.C., to curse Thompson so he would "catch cancer" or "have a car accident." Mills said Kesting paid her with two checks totaling $3,000 that both bounced, but she then paid $2,000 in cash.

Thompson, who said a Cobb County official told him of the supposed voodoo ceremony, described the situation as "very bizarre."